Five Great Books Becoming Movies This Year

Not all movies are made from original scripts or comic books. Some are adaptations of good ol’ fashioned novels. Here are four of those with a treatise on baseball economics thrown in for good measure.

1. Water for Elephants Release Date: April 22 Author: Sara Gruen Director: Francis Lawrence Stars: Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz The book: An engaging New York Times bestseller about a veterinary student who runs off to join the circus when his parents die and falls in love with the star of the show. Gruen is a gifted writer, and the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth came alive on her pages. The movie: It stars the guy from Twilight and is directed by the guy who did music videos for Britney Spears and Will Smith: Melodrama alert. On the upside, Christoph Waltz!

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Release Date: July 15 Author: J.K. Rowlings Director: David Yates Stars:Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint The book: Rowlings didn’t disappoint most fans and critics with her final chapter in the Potter series. So epic it needed two movies. The movie: Only The Lord of the Rings trilogy has had as many fans quoting chapter and verse changes to the screenplay, but there’s been little for them to complain about, and that was true for Part 1 of this finale. Sure, there was some rearranging and compressing of scenes and facts, but the two-and-a-half hour runtime for half a book allowed Yates the space to faithfully retell a really good story. There’s no reason to expect any different with Part 2. The trailer is coming Jan. 24.

3. The Help Release Date: Aug. 12 Author: Kathryn Stockett Director: Tate Taylor Stars:Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer The book: The only book on the list I haven’t read, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about this story of unlikely friendships in a segregated Southern town. The movie: Taylor is better known as an actor (Winter’s Bone) than as a director (his one film was Pretty Ugly People) but Emma Stoneis on a roll with Easy A and Zombieland.

4. Moneyball Release Date: Sept. 23 Author: Michael M. Lewis Director: Bennett Miller Stars: Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman The book: A non-fiction account about how statistical analysis has changed baseball—and a lot more fun than that sounds. As much about stat-master Bill James and the Red Sox as Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s, this 2003 book changed the way I and many others see baseball. The movie: This was an interesting choice for director Bennett Miller to follow the Oscar-winning Capote, casting Brad Pitt as Billy Beane and focusing on the A’s. He partners again with Philip Seymour Hoffmanas Art Howe.

5. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Release Date: Dec. 21 Author: Stieg Larsson Director:David Fincher Stars:Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgård The book: Larsson died before he could see what an international success his trilogy would become. But this mystery series where the heroes are a financial journalist and an anti-social computer hacker is impossible to put down. The movie: After the Swedish film version failed to make much of a splash in the States, Fincher will give it an American reboot. This is one case where I think the U.S. remake can and should outshine the original.